I avoided him, afraid that he would talk about the day we popped champagne when we met, but he didn’t mention a word about that day. Rather, he treated me as if nothing had happened, and I felt a little relieved, and stopped going to the shelter early in the morning.

‘To be honest, it was difficult.’

Getting up and going to work at a time when nobody else was awake was really lonely and challenging, even if I was the boss.

‘Cat shapeshifters might be nocturnal, but I’m not.’

I’ve attached the knights and the managers from Avila’s shelter to them, just in case something happened to them while carrying out the request. Even though the lord of the region had approved the request, there might still be people who didn’t like shapeshifters roaming the streets at dawn and wanted to harm them.

So, I returned to my usual routine, at least on the surface.

Nevertheless, covering it up didn’t mean that what happened between Dimitri and me never happened. It was because, after the kiss that day, I became acutely aware of my feelings.

‘Let’s not make a fuss. Feelings like these will disappear soon enough.’

Moreover, weren’t we bound by a marriage contract?

If I let my guard down and give in to my feelings just a little, the marriage contract might not end up just being a contract.

Then, blindly enamored by a fleeting love, you would step into the institution of marriage, only to find yourself trapped in the prison of obligation. After the love has ended, all that remains of the once beautiful relationship would be boredom and duty, leading to both people feeling burdened and annoyed, treating each other more carelessly than anyone else.

That might become the relationship between Dimitri and me… A relationship between my parents that I thought was terrible.

‘I can’t let our perfect friendship deteriorate into something so ugly and miserable.’

If I could acknowledge this momentary hormonal surge and let it pass without dwelling on it, we could part ways with only good memories of each other. Perhaps, as he suggested before, even after divorce, we could continue working in the shelter and mercenary group, seeing each other as allies and colleagues for a long time.

As I was making up my mind, I received a letter from Elaine.

“Mistress? How did this happen?”

I showed the letter from Elaine to Dimitri and asked him in dismay.

“Why is Renée in the imperial palace as the Emperor’s mistress when I helped her run away with the person she loves…”

I was truly dumbfounded.

“For now, I think it would be best to investigate what happened to the knight who took her first.”

“Did Count Larscel capture him? He can’t be dead, can he?”

Various thoughts crossed my mind. If it was Count Larscel, he was a man who was capable of killing Renée’s lover, Nigel, and taking her away.

“I thought he seemed uninterested in me and kept quiet, but I didn’t expect him to find Renée.”

Dimitri, watching me seethe with anger, made a suggestion.

“If you’re that worried, would you like to meet her in person?”

“Renée?”

“With the social season in full swing and the Emperor’s birthday celebration right around the corner, we were bound to visit the capital anyway. We’re just advancing the schedule a bit.”

“…Is that okay?”

Dimitri smiled as if to say, ‘Why wouldn’t it be?’

“Of course. It’s something you care about.”

Now, I knew that this kindness wasn’t purely altruistic and that this was an effort to win my favor, but I couldn’t afford to refuse right now.

‘I’m sure that innocent little Renée is being treated terribly on my behalf.’

Renée has no one else to help her. No one but me.

“Thank you, Dimitri.”

In fact, Dimitri wondered who Renée was when Rowaine ran up to him and said, “Renée has become the Emperor’s mistress!” because he had completely forgotten about her.

So naturally, he wasn’t the least bit worried about Renée but rather pleased that the Emperor had taken his attention away from his wife and found another woman. However, the reason he readily suggested going to the imperial palace with Rowaine was partly for her sake but also…

‘This is a perfect opportunity to separate Rowaine from the shelter and the mercenary group.’

If they could escape from the people who constantly stole her time whenever they had a chance, going to the capital would mean they could spend more time together.

‘We can attend parties and various social gatherings together, sticking together all the time.’

Being together would bring them closer, and perhaps it would create opportunities for her to open her heart. Although he absolutely despised parties and social gatherings, he felt he was going to really enjoy them from now on.

‘Because Rowaine is there.’

She didn’t believe in love, and that was why she rejected him.

‘It’s not that she doesn’t like me.’

If it was just a matter of faith, wouldn’t it be okay to just let her believe him? He wasn’t discouraged, nor did he have any intention of giving up.

Two days after that. It was the morning they had decided to roughly sort out the affairs here and depart for the capital.

As soon as Dimitri woke up in bed, he ran his hands over his body.

‘Phew. I haven’t changed.’

He was relieved to see that he had woken up in human form. Even though he usually slept in the cat form, he had been practicing sleeping in human form for the past two days.

You never know

Despite the fact that Rowaine and he were using separate rooms right now, once they reached the capital, there was a chance or even multiple chances, that they could end up sharing a room.

‘Townhouses in the capital usually have shared bedrooms for couples.’

Dimitri got out of bed, satisfied with the fact that he had maintained his human form even while sleeping. He was so excited about leaving for the capital with Rowaine that he didn’t notice that his robe had slipped completely off while he was tossing and turning in bed or realize the presence of gray fur left behind on the blanket.

‘I should send Hyle in first and have him destroy all the beds in the guest room.’

Just in case she might try to escape to the guest room.

Rubbing his face against the cushion Rowaine had made for him before, he devised a mischievous plan.

The sound of him purring contentedly spread softly throughout the room.

The departure was a little later than expected. It was because Sasha grabbed and clung to Rowaine as she tried to get onto the carriage.

“Where are you going? Leaving me behind!”

“I’ll be right back, Sasha. Just wait a little, okay?”

Flustered, she tried to soothe Sasha. In the meanwhile, while Rowaine remained composed beside her, Coco pretended to be patient, though his tail was wagging constantly as if he was anxious.

“When are you coming back, Rowaine?”

In response to Coco’s question, Dimitri, who had entered the carriage first and sat down, leaned back arrogantly and responded with a smirk.

“When the seasons change?”

“….!”

All three of them were taken aback and stared at Dimitri in surprise.

“Are you going to stay that long, Dimitri?”

“No! No!”

“S-Seasons…”

Dimitri shrugged nonchalantly as he looked at the startled Rowaine, Sasha, who had collapsed to the ground, and the dejected Coco.

“If we like it there, we can stay there until we’re bored of it.”

Thinking he was joking, Rowaine awkwardly laughed and reassured Sasha and Coco.

“No, it’s not like that. I’ll be back soon.”

However, the two young cats’ suspicions didn’t subside.

All of a sudden, Sasha summoned Abaddonto to block the carriage.

“You can’t leave me behind.”

Dimitri thought that no matter how much Coco and Sasha protested, it would be futile. He was planning to use this opportunity to give both of them a heavy dose of medicine. In the first place, they were a big part of the annoying ones who constantly stole Rowaine’s time.

But when Sasha, who was proud and never wanted to show any sign of weakness, burst into tears, he realized he had made a mistake.

“If you leave me behind… you won’t come back.”

Sasha looked up at Rowaine with her eyes wide, trying not to shed tears. However, her large eyes were filled with tears, and even though she tried to keep them open, it was futile.

Rowaine was greatly taken aback when she saw Sasha’s tears.

“Why are you crying, Sasha?”

“That servant said the same thing before. They told me they’ll come back… so I waited…”

Dimitri rubbed his forehead.

‘Oh, I teased them too much.’

He had forgotten the fact that Sasha had been abandoned.

Dimitri caught a glimpse of Rowaine’s expression. Although he couldn’t see her face with her back to the carriage, he felt like he knew what expression she was making without looking.

‘D*mn it…’

Dimitri realized that he had shot himself in the foot.

The carriage soon departed… carrying the Duke and Duchess along with two young cat shapeshifters.

 
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